I'm not gonna apologize for posting late (even though I don't really have a set schedule) but with school and work, it's hard to find free time to write. BUT, here's chapter 20 and I'm so grateful to all you patient readers who are, for some reason, still hanging on to the story!
Reviews are greatly appreciated and I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 20: Rogue Revealed
The room next door was utterly silent. The cadets were so focused on the terrifying retelling none of them uttered a single word. Their minds were rushing with thoughts but the mysterious visitor wasn't done with his story.
"Rogue was not like ussss in many waysss. You know of hissss military training, correct?"
"One of these freaks has military training," Jean muttered, baffled and a little horrified.
"From what I've gathered, he only received a small amount before he was taken away. Surely training wasn't the reason he was chosen?" said Erwin, skeptically.
"No, in fact it hassss little ssssignificance to why he was chosen. In truth, the reassson he was brought in for the project was because of hissss father," the voice, Wraith continued.
"I do not know hisss name, Rogue wassss always hessssitant to sssspeak of him, but I know he was one of the original doctors ressssearching the titan ssserum. He left the project when the funding ended and refused to make contact."
While listening to this, the gears in Armin's head began turning, his brow furrowed in concentration. Everything this titan shifter was describing was horribly familiar, but with only a few vague mentions it was hard to form a solid picture. He listened closely, hoping to hear any more information to link his scattered thoughts.
"It wasss believed he had perfected the formula before he left, but when Wall Maria fell, he completely disssappeared. It was only when Rogue was brought in, that their ssssusspicions were proven correct. Rogue was not only a shifter, he was what Drake would call, a perfect sssspecimen…"
"Someone sounds jealous," Ymir snorted in contempt.
"How can you tell? I can barely understand what the guy's saying…" grumbling Jean, before they were both hushed by Mikasa.
"Becausssse his formula was different, he did not ssssuffer the same…dyssssfunctions as the resssst of ussss and he learned to control hisss titan much faster than any of usss ever could."
"At firssst, Rogue was…impulsive, hot-headed, and, in my own opinion, obnoxxxioussss. He would argue with Drake and the guardssss and fight the tesstss they performed on him. If he had been any of use, he would have been ssseverely punished, but because he was Drake'ss favorite, they let it sssslide, that isss until…"
There was a tense pause between words, which was only interrupted when Levi spoke up.
"Until what, brat?"
"Sssorry, it isss ssstill painful, but as I sssaid, Drake allowed hisss behavior, until the night Rogue decccided to essscape," Wraith continued, his low voice dipping into a shaky whisper that was barely heard by the cadets.
"He'sss plan was decccent but mossst of usss were againsss the idea. We had already exxxxperiencccced failure and punishment far too many timesss. We feared the repercusionsss of another failed attempted, but Rogue was persssissent. It isss a gift of hiss to perssssuade othersss into action, ssso we followed hisss plan and managed to make it to the foresssst, farther than anyone had gotten before, but we were naïve to think they would not find ussss. We were ambushed and dragged back. We exxxpected punishment, but nothing could prepare ussss for what they had in mind…"
Another pause, this one seeming to be filled with anguish of some sort, Wraith was breathing erratically, as if he were trying to keep himself together.
"We did not ssssee when or how it happened, all we had wasss what Rogue told ussss. In a way, it made it sssso much worse," he continued, his voice pained. "After our plan failed and we found ourselves in our roomsss again, we were forccced to wait inside our locked cccells until they brought ussss out for training, asss if nothing had happened. When we entered the training room, Rogue was already there and he wassss…traumatized, would be a good way to desssscribe it."
"We worried over the punishment he'd reccccceived, and wondered if we would be sssubjected to it as well. That is when we noticcced one of our own wassss misssssing…"
After a brief pause to collect himself, Wraith's voice grew quiet.
"Hissss name was James, his true name, but we alwayssss called him Jimmy. He was only eight yearsss old, the youngessst of ussss all," he said, forlornly. The eerie mood in room only dropped with this latest bomb of information.
"One of them was that young?" Christa voiced, hand over her mouth and utter horror.
"I don't like where this is going," said Mikasa, pulling her scarf up. They all paused again as that hissing voice drifted through the vent again.
"He was murdered that day," he said, further shocking his audience in both rooms. "Rogue told usss everything he could. He was taken to the top of Wall Rossse and forcccced to watch assss Jimmy was killed in hissss titan form…by your troops."
The silence in the room was palpable, as the officers tried to wrap their heads around this new piece of information.
"Oh! I think I remember that day!" Hange suddenly exclaimed, before her voice dropped in realization. "Wait… that titan, the one with the translucent skin…he was one of you?"
"Yesssss, they drugged him sssso he would rampage when your group approached," Wraith confirmed, with sadness in his voice.
"I told you we should have captured him! He might have lived if we brought him back to study!" Hange said, horrified, and from the sound of shuffling paper, she was furiously writing in her notes.
"I doubt Drake would have allowed it, Hange," Erwin said, solemnly. "They brought that boy out there to be made an example of, and I'm sad to realize our involvement in it, but nothing could have been done then and nothing can be done now."
There was a moment of silence and slight grumbling from the titan-fanatic.
"That poor boy," whispered Christa, tears in her eyes.
"Like the Commander said, nothing we can do about it…" Ymir said, bluntly, but still giving the blonde a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"Do not think we blame you for what happened. Rogue sssettled our grudge againssst you yearsss ago," Wraith said. "Jimmy'sss death was the tipping point for ussss and for Atlasss Corp. The exxxxxperimentssss and training became rigorous and the punishmentssss more frequent. Usss ssssubjects grew further apart from each other, not that we were clossse to begin with…"
The cadets didn't miss the sarcastic grumbling that accompanied that last sentence but didn't have time to analyze it before Wraith continued.
"As a result, we sssstarted losssing oursssselves faster than before. Our minds deteriorated quickly and we became lesssss…human. Fightssss broke out daily, some becoming incredibly violent, and we hardly sssspoke to one another. The biggessst change, however, was Rogue."
"He became more focussssed and colder, training usss in everything he wasss taught, while taking the blame for our missstakes. Over time, he became our leader, the one we lisssstened to and followed without question, but at the ssssame time, he became passsssive toward Violet," Wraith added, his voice lowering in what could be described as loathing. "That woman issss vile, but Rogue was ssssubmissive to her and only her, like a favored pet."
"He just accepted it? Let her boss him around like that?" asked Hange, sounding incredulous. It did seem like an odd notion for the leader of a gang of titans to be submissive to anyone, let alone a human.
"I believe he isss doing it to earn her trussst, to fool her into thinking he isss truly on her ssssside," he explained with heated malice. "But do you know how frussstrating and infuriating it is, to sssee someone you resssspect being treated like ssssome kind of lapdog. Like a common house pet!"
The cadets shivered at the pure amount of hatred that seeped into Wraith's wispy voice.
"Calm down, kid, you're starting to fade through the chair," came the Captains voice, oddly dull sounding for someone witnessing something that shouldn't be physically possible.
"My apologies, my form issss hard to control when my emotionssss peak," admitted Wraith, after a moment of silence.
"Can you ssssee now, why we are sssso dessssperate to leave that placcce? Why we would give ssso many sssacrificcces to be away from that awful woman?" Wraith finished, sounding far more wretched than he had throughout the entire story. "We would give anything to be free…"
The cadets sat in silence, feeling pity for the boy in the other room, even Jean was slightly sympathetic towards Wraith, after all, isn't that what they were fighting for as well? For a way to be free of the walls and the fear of the titans?
"We understand your struggle, Wraith, and truthfully I'm impressed by your tenacity," the Commander said. "We'll have to discuss our future actions before we make any decisions however."
"I underssstand. I do not expect you to decide tonight," Wraith replied, sounding tired. "May I offer one more important detail for you to think over?"
"Might as well, brat," sighed Levi, clearly wanting to end the conversation and go to bed.
"Rogue possessss a remarkable ability, one I'm sure you would kill to get your hands on…"
Now the cadets were interested. They had been growing tired and with the conversation coming to a close, they were whispering about how they were going to escape without anyone catching them, but with that sentence, their attention was immediately brought back to the other room.
"Rogue hasss the ability to control titans shiftersss and, in theory, the titansss themselves…"
Every human seemed to freeze in both rooms. Shocked beyond belief by such a bold statement.
"You're talking about that voice trick he did?" Mike said quietly, startling the recruits. They'd forgotten he was in there. "The one that stopped the fighting titans?"
"It isss not some parlor trick," Wraith hissed, his voice rising in volume and heat. "It isss his titan's ability, like my shadow form, but sssso much more powerful. When he uses that command, we have no choice but to follow."
"Like an Alpha command?" Levi asked, dully. "Must be frustrating have to follow his every word."
"Not really. He rarely ussses hisss ability. He believes it issss cruel to forccce uss to his will," the shifter replied.
Meanwhile, inside the room, a certain recruit was staring at the vent with obvious hope and excitement. Could this Rogue be the one they were looking for? Reiner listened harder, wanting to catch every detail.
The others didn't notice his odd behavior, too engrossed in their eavesdropping.
"Good to know he has some self-control over this ability," said Erwin. "It would be problematic if he abused something that powerful."
"No kidding," Jean muttered in agreement. "I don't want to imagine what that freak could do if he went around controlling titans."
A few of them agreed to that sentiment, but Armin continued to frown at the vent, the nagging feeling never leaving him.
"That isss all I have to tell," said the shifters in fatigue.
"Hm, you've given us a lot to think about, Wraith," Erwin said. From the sound of wood scraping on wood, the Commander seemed to be getting up from his chair. "Tomorrow morning, I'll gather all the squad leaders and we'll hold a meeting, but for tonight, I believe we all need rest."
"As for where you'll be staying for the night…"
"I say we keep him in the dungeon," Levi interrupted. "I know you're probably sick of cells, but I don't trust you yet."
"What! We can't keep him there! Hasn't he been through enough poor treatment?" Hange said indignantly.
"Sadly, I have to agree with Levi. It's merely a precaution, but it would be best to keep you somewhere we know is secure."
Wraith sighed but reluctantly agreed to the arrangements. Movement sounded from the vent, and the recruits were certain the meeting was finally over. But, of course, the nights surprises weren't over yet.
"Just out of curiosity," Erwin said, before they left the room. "I know you don't like to reveal your names, but could you possibly tell us Rogue's? I'm sure it would be easy to look up in the military registry given the odd circumstance surrounding his leaving training, but to save us the trouble…"
"I ssssuppose Rogue would not mind, sssseeing as he holdssss you in sssuch high regards," Wraith admitted, thoughfully. "Eren Jaeger, that is Rogue's true name."
Erwin nodded, but said nothing else as the group exited the room and their footsteps faded down the hall. On the other side of the door, time seemed to have halted.
Every cadet in that room stood frozen, their faces a mask of shock and disbelief. While his friends were still processing the unexpected words, Armin's mind was moving at lightning speed, linking everything he'd heard in that room to the events of Eren's disappearance. He couldn't believe how dense he was not to see it when they first started talking about a trainee that was pulled out after only a short time. Of course, it had to be Eren.
"It all makes sense now…" the blond boy muttered incredulously. "How did I not see it…"
"Guys…what do we do now?" Sasha asked, brow furrowed. She glanced at the door, but she couldn't imagine going to bed after a reveal like that. Still, she didn't want to be caught…
Jean was about to suggest they leave and go back to their dorms when Mikasa suddenly bolted for the door, slipping silently into the hall. Armin followed without question, already anticipating where she was headed.
Reiner was almost to the door when Jean grabbed his forearm and stopped him.
"You're not seriously going after them, are you?" he hissed.
The hulking blond paused and frowned at Jean. "I get why you're so uneasy about all this, I mean, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it myself, but if it were Marco, you'd want to find him too, wouldn't you?"
Jean glared at him, but didn't say a word.
"Exactly. Try to imagine what they're going through. I don't care what you do, I'm helping them find Eren."
Reiner pulled his arm away and left quickly without a backward glance.
"I can't believe Eren's a titan…" Christa whispered, still trying to process her thoughts.
"God's got some twisted sense of humor, huh?" Ymir snorted.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Sasha in confusion.
"Come on, we're talking about the kid that wanted to slay all the titans, right? I mean, he wouldn't shut up about "killing every titan". How ironic that he ends up becoming one. It's almost funny!"
"It's not funny, Ymir," whispered Christa. She turned to watch Jean with his fist clenched. "Are you okay, Jean?"
"Fine," he grumbled before he roughly grabbed the door and yanked it open, nearly smacking Connie in the face.
"Woah, what the hell!" Connie screeched, nearly falling on his rear. Behind him stood Marco and Bertholdt, looking worried and confused. When Connie regained his bearings, he snapped at Jean. "Where were you guys! We woke up and you were gone! We even checked the girl's dorm, but none of you were there!"
"You went in the girl's dorm?" Ymir asked with a raised eyebrow, torn between being angry and mildly impressed.
Connie turned red in the face and hissed, "That's not the point!"
"Jean, what's going on? Why are you all out of bed so late?" asked Marco, frowning at his best friend.
"We didn't mean to," Jean grumbled, checking the corridor. "Potato Girl decided she needed a late-night snack and me, Reiner and Armin just followed Mikasa to help track her down. Don't know why I even bothered…"
"Speaking of which, where are Reiner, Armin, and Mikasa? Did they go back to bed?" Bert asked, peeking into the room they had just left.
"They ran off that way," Sasha said, frowning down the hall. "Though I don't know where they went since the dorms are the other way…"
"Isn't it obvious? They went to talk to that freak down in the dungeons," explained Ymir. She pulled Christa to her side and started marching down the hall where the others had disappeared. "Normally I wouldn't be getting involved in all this drama, but I gotta admit, this is getting interesting."
Sasha sighed and followed them, hating to admit she was curious as well.
"Hey! Where are you going?!"
"Keep your big mouth shut, Springer!" snapped Jean. "You want us getting caught?"
Connie sputtered out apologies but Jean wasn't listening. He was already stiffly walking down the hall behind Sasha. The other three caught up to him and they stealthily made their way through the halls.
"You want to let us in on what's going on, Jean?" Marco asked softly. He could tell his friend was tense but he couldn't imagine what would make him act so anxious.
"Long story short?" he replied, running his hands through his hair. "There's a titan in the basement the others are going to talk to, there's a secret organization experimenting on children, and oh, the best part? Eren Jaeger's running around as some titan leader, with this magical ability to control titan's. Did I miss anything?"
"No, I think you got the gist of it," sighed Sasha, as they found the entrance to the basement.
The other three boys gaped at them.
"I can't tell if you're kidding or not," Connie said, incredulously.
"God, I wish I was," the boy grumbled.
The five of them descended the basement steps, unsure where they were going or what they were going to find down there. The whole situation was confusing and hard to believe, but still, they trudged on until they found a light at the end the end of the corridor.